


10 Days

by Captain_Rachel



Series: 30 Nights and 10 Days [3]
Category: Hannibal (2001), Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris, Red Dragon (2002), Red Dragon - Thomas Harris, Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, And Hannibal Likes Him That Way, Angst, Attempted Murder, Cannibalism, Dubious Consent, Hannibal Being Hannibal, Implied Torture, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Murder, Serial Killers, Will Is Not Mentally Sound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-16
Updated: 2012-10-03
Packaged: 2017-11-14 08:50:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Rachel/pseuds/Captain_Rachel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten ficlets looking Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter's relationship--before, during and after the events explored in 30 Nights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finally together

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my fic 30 Nights. The chapters of this fic are not meant to be read in order, as they take place before/during/after the various chapters of 30 Nights. If you’ve read 30 Nights then you should be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 30 Nights: 030. It Hurt To See You Cry

**01.    Finally together**

Mason Verger’s death and the events surrounding it have catapulted Will back into a sort of spotlight. While most of the attention has been focused on Clarice Starling and the incompetence (perceived and actual) of the FBI and the American Government, some attention has been focused on Will. There have been a few stories dedicated to him, although mostly he plays a supporting role in an article dedicated to either Clarice Starling or Hannibal himself.

Because of this Hannibal and Will have found themselves staying in Brazil for a bit longer then Hannibal had planned. Their current home is an upscale room hotel in Sao Paulo, where Will Graham is sitting on the couch struggling to keep his mind on the book in his hands and not on the fact that his right arm is itching like crazy underneath the cast.

Will grumbles and sets the book aside before glaring down at the white cast. Just as he’s starting to contemplate what exactly he’d need to get in order to scratch that itch when Hannibal sits down on the couch next to him. Will blinks a few times, momentary confused since he hadn’t been aware the older man had returned from getting supplies

“Can I take it off yet?” Will grumbles as his hand runs over the cast.

“No.” Hannibal replies, taking hold of Will’s hand and pulling it away from the cast before gently pushing Will to encourage him to lean back against him. Will does so and sighs as Hannibal’s hand starts to run through his hair.

“But it itches.” Will whimpers as he flexes his arm in the vein hope it will somehow stop the itching—which it doesn’t.

“Then you’ll have to concentrate on something else.” Hannibal replies as his arms wrap around Will’s waist. Will can’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl, which draws a dry amused laugh from Hannibal. “Such a dirty mind you have Will.”

“I be yours is worse.” Will laughs as he turns so that he can press a kiss to Hannibal’s lips—a kiss which is quickly cut off by a moan as one of Hannibal’s hands dips down underneath Will’s belt. Will’s eyes slip closed and his body trembles as Hannibal’s hand moves back up just long enough to undo the fly of his jeans so that he has more room to work.

Will bites back a whimper as Hannibal starts to slowly stroke him. He finds himself shaking slightly, his left hand grabbing hold of the couch while his right clenches uselessly. Hannibal is going _painfully_ slow and obviously taking pleasure in the noises that he’s drawing from his younger lover. Just as Will is about to object, to try and get Hannibal to move faster, when the older man leans in and bites the side of Will’s neck, drawing a pleased scream from the blond man.

As Will’s scream dies down Hannibal worries the flesh, creating a dark love bite as Will starts trying to thrust up into Hannibal’s grip and mumble nonsensical pleas. Hannibal pulls back to inspect his handiwork  and presses a gentle kiss to the love bite. As he does this Hannibal _finally_ speeds up, abandoning the slow steady rhythm for a more punishing pace. Will shudders and moans as he struggles to hold himself back—his head tilts to the side and Hannibal take advantage of the movement to claim Will’s lips.

Will pulls back from Hannibal’s mouth and screams out his completion as he all but goes limp in Hannibal’s arms. A pleased but exhausted noise slips past his lips as Hannibal reaches for a cloth he’d placed off to the side and gently cleans the younger man off and makes him presentable.

“It doesn’t itch anymore, does it?” Hannibal whispers as the two arrange themselves comfortably on the couch, which is larger and more comfortable then several beds Will has owned.

“No.” Will admits with a soft laugh as he finds himself starting to drift off to sleep.


	2. I Hate To Love, But For You I’m Willing To…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place before 30 Nights : 001. You Were Never Mine To Begin With

**02.    I Hate To Love, But For You I’m Willing To…**

Compared to other psychiatrists in Baltimore Doctor Hannibal Lecter has very few clients. Most days he sees a maximum of three clients and—without entirely meaning to—Hannibal has ended up specializing in two “types” of clients: wealthy seniors and spoiled rich brats. Of course this means that the vast majority of Hannibal’s clients are the sort of people who don’t actually need his services but pay handsomely for them anyway.

Currently the Good Doctor is “listening” to an anorexic young woman who has the tendency to spend her sessions talking about either her latest boyfriend or complaining about the size of her allowance. If Hannibal had to rank his patients by who was the most annoying and least interesting then the woman would probably come in third or fourth place.

As the young woman goes off on another random tangent Hannibal’s gaze drifts to a discreetly placed clock on a far wall—one that he can see but his clients cannot. Usually Hannibal would only want the session to end so that he could escape from the annoyance… but today he has plans.

Two days ago Hannibal had gotten a call from a college by the name of Doctor Alan Bloom, a psychiatrist who mostly worked with the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences. The two had met several years ago at a meeting of the Mental Health Association of Maryland and stuck up a sort of friendship. Well, Alan might consider it a friendship, but Hannibal saw it for what it really was—a way for him to keep an eye on the FBI.

Alan was currently in Florida, waiting for it to be his turn to testify in a murder trial… but the FBI needed a psychiatrist to work on a profile of their latest serial killer—the Minnesota Shrike. Since Alan was unavailable Jack Crawford, the head of Behavioral Sciences, had asked Bloom to recommend someone else—and that someone had ended up being Hannibal.

So the FBI had sent over the Minnesota Shrike’s file and Hannibal had arranged a meeting with the man the FBI had put in charge of finding the serial killer—a man named Will Graham, whom Hannibal knows nothing about. Alan had spoken of the man once or twice, but Hannibal had never met him or even seen a picture of the Investigator.

Finally the young woman’s session ends and, thankfully, the woman leaves relatively quickly, leaving Hannibal alone in his townhouse. The file on the Minnesota Shrike is rather slim—he’s only been a known serial killer for about a month, although his first kill dates to about five years ago.

The Shrike stated out by killing College Co-Eds in Minnesota, hence his nick name. However the murders hadn’t been linked together until the serial killer had relocated to Maryland. Right now the body count stood at three confirmed deaths in Minnesota and two bodies discovered in the Baltimore area.

Originally the serial killer had just been called the “Shrike” after the birds that impaled insects on thorns and then tearing up the flesh. The Minnesota part had been added after the deaths in Minnesota were connected to the deaths in Baltimore… however what had been most interesting to Hannibal about the Minnesota Shrike’s file are the photocopied notes from Will Graham. The man, who isn’t a FBI Agent but a “Special Investigator”, has been to every single dump site and his insight into the mind of the Shrike are… well astounding. It’s almost as if this Will Graham is himself a serial killer, or at least a _potential_ killer. Most FBI Agents, even the slightly unhinged ones, couldn’t get as much of a grasp of a killer’s psyche as Will Graham seems to.

Hannibal is drawn out of his musing by the sound of his doorbell ringing—when he answer the door Hannibal finds himself looking at man who he assumes is Will Graham, after all the man has a gun underneath his jacket and is carrying a file with the FBI’s embalm on the cover.

“Dr. Lecter?” The man asks, extending his hand, which Hannibal takes in a firm handshake.

“Investigator Graham, a pleasure to meet you.” Hannibal replies, taking a step back to allow the Special Investigator to access to his home.

“Please, call me Will.” The Special Investigator replies as he follows Hannibal into his office, where. “Thank you for agreeing to  see me—I’m interested in what you think about the case.”

“Oh it’s no problem… Will.” Hannibal tries out the name as he sits down in his chair and pulls out his own notes on the Shrike.

Will Graham is not what Hannibal had expected. He’s young and quite good looking for a member of the FBI—blond hair and blue eyes which would be charming if Hannibal was anyone else. However because of Hannibal’s own peculiarities he can see the darkness in the Special Investigator’s eyes and the pain that Will carries from what he has seen. The man also seems to be scared of something—but not of Hannibal or of the Serial Killer they are trying to capture. Instead he seems almost scared of his deductions, of his ideas about who the killer is.

It had been obvious from Will Graham’s notes that the man possessed a photographic memory. The notes were largely written on hotel stationary and dated several hours after his investigations of the crime scenes, but were still very accurate.

However as Hannibal began to talk about the Minnesota Shrike with Will, as they bgan to piece together a mental profile of the killer… well it became apparent that there was something more to Will. Not just a photographic memory-something more, something deeper. Unlike other investigators whom Hannibal had worked with, Will did not mention his own feelings about the murders—no judgments on the morality of what the Shrike had done, no comments on what he’d felt when he’d seen the mutilated bodies.

Hannibal is beginning to suspect that Will Graham is an _eideteker_. He is also beginning to hope that catching the Shrike will take a good long time—Will is the most interesting person Hannibal had talked with for a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is heavily influence by two fics that I read a while ago which shaped my headcannon on Will/Hannibal. One was probably Changing Heart by elfin (http://www.sundive.co.uk/reddragon/heart.htm) but the other one I’ve forgotten the title and author of. (It had Hannibal going to meet Will while he was in Bethesda Mental Hospital and that being the first time they met.) If you know the fic I’m talking about, then please shoot me a note.


	3. I Feel Peace At Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after "10 Days: 02 --- I Hate To Love, But For You I’m Willing To…" and before "30 Nights: 001 --- You Were Never Mine To Begin With"

Will shows up at Hannibal’s door on an afternoon turned into night by a torrential downpour. When Hannibal answers the frantic ringing of his doorbell he finds Will soaked to the bone with blood somehow still staining his hands and a haunted look in his eyes. Before Hannibal can ask any questions the Special Investigator speaks.

“Hobbs was the Shrike.” Will informs the Doctor.

Hannibal does not question Will—instead he gently leads the younger man inside his townhouse and has Will sit down on his couch while he fetches a few towels and a first aid kit. When Hannibal returns with these items Will remains silent as Hannibal drapes the towel over his shoulders and begins cleaning the blood off Will’s hands.

“Hobbs heard us coming.” Will whispers as Hannibal works. “Threw his wife at us—after he’d stabbed her a dozen times.”

Will flinches slightly as Hannibal finds a cut—most likely from Hobbs’ knife—on Will’s left hand. Hannibal reaches for the first aid kit and quickly bandages the cut… Will’s hands have started to shake ever so slightly.

“Then he grabbed his daughter and started cutting her— _mutilating_ her.” Will continues, staring down at his hands as Hannibal finishes bandaging the cut. His hands are noticeably shaking now, so Hannibal doesn’t let go, choosing instead to keep hold of Will’s hands and sit on the couch next to the younger man. “I must have shot him ten times before he stopped hurting her.”

“Did she survive?” Hannibal asks—because that’s what he’s expected to ask, it’s what a “normal” person would ask.

“Yes—but her father’s dead and he _killed_ her mother.” Will replies, taking one hand from Hannibal’s grasp and running it through his hair. The shiver has moved from Will’s hands up his arms to almost his entire body…

It is at this moment that Hannibal realizes Will has come to see him before Molly—Will had come to Hannibal before he’d gone to his own wife…  with this in mind Hannibal makes a decision. As Will sits in his wounded shocked silence Hannibal leans forward and captures the younger man’s lips in a fierce kiss.

For a second Will stiffens in shock, then he suddenly relaxes into the kiss—handing all control of the embrace over to Hannibal, who raises an arm to pull the blond man closer to him. Will whimpers as Hannibal pulls back to allow the two of them to breathe and leans against Hannibal, relying on the other man to stay upright.

“Stay for the night.” Hannibal whispers. Will seems overwhelmed for a few seconds for a few seconds but he eventually nods and reaches for the phone he knows is on a table nearby.

It Hannibal takes considerable willpower to keep his hands off Will while the younger man makes some excuse to Molly. The second that Will hangs up the phone Hannibal pulls the beautiful man into his lap and claims his lips once again.

This time Will takes a more active role in the kiss—one arm wraps around Hannibal’s shoulders as he kisses Hannibal back. The desperation in Will’s body is palpable—he shakes in Hannibal’s arms and whimpers when the older man’s hands dig into his skin—no doubt leaving bruises in their wake. Hannibal has to fight for control, something which is unbelievably satisfying, especially when he can grab Will’s hair—which the younger man has forgotten to get cut—and pull hard. A groan of pleasure/pain slips from Will’s lips as the tug forces his head back, giving Hannibal access to Will’s neck.

“Beautiful boy.” Hannibal whispers before biting down on Will’s neck, drawing a shout from the Special Investigator, who is all but vibrating in Hannibal’s arms. Will whimpers as Hannibal pulls back from Will’s neck and starts to unbutton the younger man’s shirt. Will leans back to help Hannibal remove his shirt, only to almost fall off of Hannibal’s lap and off of the couch the two men are sitting on.

When Will slips he lets out an awkward little squawk of panic and clings to Hannibal—only to flush bright red when he realizes that _he_ made the squawking noise. Will’s gaze darts downward in embarrassment and his eyes only rise to meet Hannibal’s when the Doctor gently tilts Will’s head up and smiles.

“Perhaps a change of location?” Hannibal asks. Will hesitates for a second—Hannibal can see that Will is thinking of Molly—his wife and perhaps of Willy, her son and Will’s step son. But then Will nods and stands up, which allows Hannibal to stand and lead the way to his bedroom. Will shrugs off his shirt before awkwardly sitting down on the bed—Hannibal responds by all but lunging forward and claiming Will’s lips in a fierce kiss as he pins the younger man to the bed. Will eagerly responds to the kiss—fighting Hannibal for control before submitting to the older man.

When Will submits Hannibal reaches over and fumbles in his bedside table for supplies. All thought of Molly and Willey—and even all of Will’s thoughts about Garret Hobs—have clearly fled from Will’s mind. When the two part for air Hannibal decides to worry at the love bite he’d previously created on Will’s throat—and there are no complaints, not thoughts of what Molly will think if—or perhaps that should be _when_ —she sees the mark.

Hannibal drops the tube he’d pulled from his bedside table on to the bed and pulls back so that he can remove his own shirt and pants. Will watches for a second before blushing and focusing on taking off his remaining clothing. Hannibal pauses for a moment to admire the younger man’s body, taking note of the few old scars he can see—nothing major, just everyday childhood injuries. Will’s blush remains in place, even as he reaches out and gently run a hand over an old scar on Hannibal’s shoulder. It almost seems as if Will isn’t aware of his actions, when Hannibal moves forward to allow Will to explore more easily, the young man freezes and looks up at Hannibal as if he expects to be scolded for his actions.

Instead Hannibal reaches up and gently squeezes Will’s hand before pushing him back down on to the bed. Hannibal slowly runs his hands down Will’s sides and the younger man’s eyes start to drift closed as one arm wraps around Hannibal’s shoulders and the other lies at his side. When Hannibal reaches his destination and slowly begins to prepare the Special Investigator  Will’s grip tightens on Hannibal’s shoulders as he hisses softly—it’s clear to Hannibal that the younger man has never been touched—has never been taken.

This sends a dark thrill through Hannibal as he leans forward and captures Will’s lips once again as he continues to prepare the younger man. It’s almost like the muffled sounds of pleasure which Hannibal swallows have an actual taste—sweet and sour, like a lemon tart. Soon Will is whimpering and has pulled away from the kiss and is gasping into the pillows of the bed as Hannibal finishes preparing him.

Hannibal removes his fingers and distracts will by dragging his blunt—yet still slightly sharp—nails down Will’s side. This draws a moan of pleasure from Will, which is quickly replaced by a scream—more of surprise then of pain—as Hannibal thrusts into the man he is beginning to think of as _his_ beautiful boy.

 _Mine_. Hannibal wants to growl into Will’s ear. _My beautiful boy._ But he remains silent—or at least as silent as is really possible and focuses more intently on the blond man in his arms. After all, it wouldn’t do for the Special Investigator to run away just as Hannibal’s managed to grab hold of him.

Hannibal can tell that Will won’t last—he’s inexperienced and Hannibal is throwing everything he has and not exactly a _considerable_ amount of experience—but at least a _good_ amount of experience. All too soon Will is clinging to the older man and Hannibal, for all his experience, is finding himself struggling to hang on.

Will is beautiful when he falls apart in Hannibal’s arms—the older man manages to hold himself back just long enough to watch as Will reaches the peak and tumbles over, before he joins the younger man. While Will screams in pleasure, Hannibal remains silent, although both men hold on to the other as tightly as they can.

Slowly, gently, Hannibal pulls away from Will, who does not seem to notice Hannibal leaving in order to fetch a towel. Will only starts to stir when Hannibal cleans the two of them off—his eyes slowly open and he stares at Hannibal in the dim light of the Doctor’s bedroom. For the first time since Will walked into his townhouse, Hannibal remembers that it is raining outside—even though the rain has been and is still lashing against the house and the wind is making some of the window panes rattle.

Hannibal glance out at the window for a moment as he lies down next to the Special Investigator who instantly curls towards Hannibal, who pulls the covers of the bed over the two of them—it’s still early, although the rain makes it appear later then it is. Turning back towards Will Hannibal gently takes the blond man in his arms and settles in to sleep—at least for a while.

Even as exhausted as Will is, he is unlikely to sleep straight through till dawn. Hannibal will let the younger man rest for a while and then… well he’ll start by preparing a special dinner for his beautiful boy.

After all Hannibal kitchen is _fully_ stocked and he doubts that Will has ever tried liver… especially one whose… “previous owner” is currently considered the tenth victim of the Minnesota Shrike.


	4. It’s Hard Not To Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 30 Nights: 004 --- Darkness In My Heart and before 30 Nights: 005. --- Release My Darkness: Bring Me Warmth

**04.    It’s Hard Not To Love You**

Molly is down in Florida with Willy—her latest call had lasted all of five sentences in which she’d informed Will that she had bought a house and was now fixing it up so that when Will was done testifying at Hannibal Lecter’s trial he could “kick back and relax”.

While Molly is enjoying herself setting up a new, FBI-free life for the three of them, Will is in a cheap motel room with two police officers outside at all time, partially to “protect” Will and partially to keep the press away.

The ex-Special Investigator is one of the last people scheduled to testify at Hannibal Lecter’s trial and he has spent the past week in a strange haze of sleepless nights and days where he isn’t sure if he’s awake or just dreaming about lying awake. Alan Bloom had dropped by on the second day with a bottle of sleeping pills and a lot of questions which he didn’t dare ask and Will hopes that he’ll never have to answer.

Of all the people who knew both Will and Hannibal, Alan is the only one who ever suspected that there was something more than friendship between the two—although Will suspects Alan doesn’t and didn’t believe his own suspicions.

Will hadn’t touched the pills—they’re still sitting on the dresser were Alan left them. As bad as the nights without sleep are, Will prefers them to the dreamless nothingness he knows awaits him if he takes one of Alan’s pills. Besides, the sleepless nights give him more of an opportunity to think.

Will Graham is a man with a lot to think about… in fact he has more to think about then anyone else (except possibly Hannibal) knows. After all, everyone else thinks that Will discovered his friend was a serial killer—was _the_ serial killer—mere seconds before the man tried to kill him. As far as Will can tell even Hannibal believes that Will put everything togeth at the very end… which is of course, completely untrue.

Will had known before he walked through Hannibal’s door—and yet he’d still loved the man. Even now, with bandages covering the wound on his stomach, Will can’t stop himself from loving Hannibal—in spite of all that he now knows the older man to be…

Shortly after Will had shot Garret Hobbs—about three days after he’d started cheating on Molly with Hannibal—the Special Investigator had begun to change. For Will it had been a change for the better, but to Alan Bloom it hadn’t been a change—it had been a symptom of depression resulting from the Minnesota Shrike’s crimes and Will’s role in his death. After a week of shrugging off Alan and Molly’s concerns over his mental health Will had followed Alan’s advice and consented to a short stay in Bethesda Naval Hospital’s psychiatric wing.

Will had stayed in the mental hospital for two weeks. The first week had been the hardest—Alan knew the doctors in the win and had filled them in on Will’s “condition”, so Will had to listen to the doctors as they tried to console him and promised that his life would return to “normal” soon. At the beginning of the second week Will had given in and played along—he’d done everything the doctors had asked and managed to escape from the hospital.

Hannibal had been the one to drive Will home from Bethesda—the older man hadn’t said anything on the drive back to Will’s home, but somehow Will had been able to tell that Hannibal knew he’d lied to the doctors. Even now Will doesn’t feel guiltily about lying and doesn’t believe he needed to be in Bethesda. If there _is_ something wrong with him… well then perhaps it’s best for Will to be “wrong”.

 _“_ You bend Will.” Hannibal had told Will once when the two of them were sitting up late at night talking about an old cold case that Jack Crawford had asked the two of them to look at. “You bend farther than most—but unlike them you don’t break, do you Will?”

Will opens his eyes and blinks as he stares straight into the sunlight streaming through the gaps of the curtain which he hasn’t opened since he entered the hotel room five days ago. _You bend farther than most…_ Hannibal’s words ring in his ears as he forces himself to sit and then to stand. _But unlike them you don’t break…_ Slowly Will makes his way into the bathroom and stares at his reflection. After a second’s hesitation Will reaches down and slowly lifts up his shirt so that he can look at his scar—which is still covered by bandages, but it is all too easy for Will to imagine what it will look like when the bandages come off.

_Do you will?_

“No Hannibal.” Will whispers at his reflection, his hands trembling ever so slightly. “I don’t break.”

Will lets his shirt fall back down and walks out of his bathroom and into his motel room. He glances at the newspaper sitting in front of the door to check the date and notes that he has to testify in court tomorrow. Out of the corner of his eye Will spots the bottle of sleeping pills that Alan left. After a second’s hesitation Will grabs the bottle and dry swallows a pill before he heads towards his bed and his new, post-Hannibal life.


	5. I’m Poisoned From The Very Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 10 Days: 01 --- Finally Together and before 10 Days: 06 --- Don't Worry, I'll Always Be By Your Side

**05.    I’m Poisoned From The Very Moment**

Clarice Starling arrives at Will Graham’s house on the exact same day that Will and Hannibal leave Brazil. While Will and Hannibal are finding their seats on the plane Clarice Starling sits in an old weather beaten chair on the end of a dock and watches the surf.

By the time she arrives at Will’s home Clarice has officially left the FBI following the events at Muskrat Farm—which had been all but silenced by Margot Verger and the Verger family lawyers. Thanks to Mrs. Verger and those lawyers Clarice now has more money then she really knows what to do with and a standing offer to join Margot’s security team.

As soon as her affairs in Washington D.C. were tied up Clarice had headed south, towards Sugarloaf Keys and the house of Will Graham. At first Clarice hadn’t known what it was that drove her towards Graham… they’d only really talked once, when she’d run into Will at that supermarket and it wasn’t like they’d made any sort of special connection. Then, after everything that happened at Muskrat Farm, Will had all but run away from Washington D.C and the FBI.

So, without knowing why, Clarice had headed for the house which Will Graham had retreated to after Hannibal’s trial, the house where the Red Dragon had tried to kill the ex-Special Investigator. She’d arrived to find a well maintained but utterly empty house, with no sign of the blond haired man or clue to where he’d run off to this time.

When she’d first sat down on the dock where Jack had once persuaded Will Graham to chase after the Tooth Fairy Clarice had thought about tracking down the man—she’d wanted to learn something more about Hannibal from Will—after all, Will had been the one to catch the Chesapeake Ripper.

But, as she’d sat on the dock and watched the surf, a new plan began to form in Clarice Starling’s mind… or perhaps it wasn’t a _new_ plan but a old one which she finally could implement.

So while Will Graham is falling asleep on Hannibal Lecter’s shoulder in business class on a flight from Brazil to Japan, Clarice Starling sits under the Florida sun and decides that she is going to find Hannibal Lecter. While Hannibal runs a gentle hand through his beloved boy’s hair Clarice remembers a kiss she’d received from the cannibal and feels phantom lips pressing against her own. With a deep breath Clarice reaches up and touches her lips, thinking of Hannibal’s words— _Tell me Clarice, would you ever say to me, ‘Stop! If you loved me you’d stop!’_

Her answer is the same… _not in a thousand years_. However Clarice Starling realizes something, on that beach underneath the Florida sun, in the chair where Will Graham had agreed to investigate the Tooth Fairy for Jack Crawford. _Not in a thousand years_ doesn’t mean what it did that night in Paul’s home… it means something completely different and, perhaps more importantly, Hannibal needs to know that the meaning of her words has changed.

Clarice Starling stands on a pier in Sugarloaf Keys, looking out at the Atlantic as if she can see something among the waves. With a smirk on her face Clarice decides the path her life will take—she’s going to find Hannibal Lecter, no matter how long it takes. She’s going to find Hannibal and show him that the lambs have finally stopped screaming… perhaps they can start with Will Graham.

After all, the man did lock Hannibal away.


	6. Don’t Worry, I’ll Always Be By Your Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 10 Days: 5 --- I'm Poisoned From The Very Moment and before 10 Days: 08 --- Alone At Night

**06.    Don’t Worry, I’ll Always Be By Your Side**

Hannibal and Will don’t remain in Japan for very long—the two of them stand out too much. They spend about a month and a half traveling with different tourist groups before deciding that it’s best to move on… on what ends up being their second to last night in Japan Will finds himself flipping through an atlas and informing Hannibal that he’s always wanted to see Russia—which Hannibal decides is a wonderful idea.

Hannibal reserves a luxurious suite at the Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg for the two of them. The suite had a black grand piano in the sitting room and a balcony which would be lovely to sit on during summer, but is currently unusable due to the snow and ice of a Russia winter. Hannibal hopes that he will have a chance during their stay in Russia to finish teaching Will how to play—something he’d begun in Baltimore all those years ago but never quite managed to finish.

When Hannibal and Will arrive in St. Petersburg and make their way to the Hotel it is shortly after noon local time—but Will’s internal clock somehow translates “noon” as a mix between “I’ve been forced to stay awake for five days” and “ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE AND I CAN FLY!” The end result of this is a horribly exhausted ex-Special Investigator who can’t fall asleep but also can’t manage to stay awake... while Hannibal is slightly tired but otherwise fine and already adjusted to the change in time.

So Hannibal and Will end up lying on the suite’s ridiculously large bed, Hannibal holding a book in one hand with his other arm wrapped around Will, who is trying desperately to fall asleep but is only managing to sort of half-drift in and out of consciousness. Will grumbles to himself as he once again fails to fall asleep and cracks open his eyes to look at Hannibal.

“Still can’t fall asleep?” Hannibal asks without looking up from his book.

“And yet I can’t stay awake…” Will sighs. “What are you reading?”

“I guess you could call it a love story.” Hannibal replies as he slowly turns a page of his book.

“You’re reading a love story?” Will smirks. “And what do you mean you _guess_ it’s a love story?”

“It’s about the Russian attempts to settle in the New World.” Hannibal explains as he slowly closes the book and places it off to the side.  “The fur trade had brought them to the New World—the Chinese were willing to pay a lot of money for otter pelts. The Russians established a few settlements in Alaska—but in 1806 the Russian settlers were starving.”

“So… how is this a love story?” Will asks as he closes his eyes and drapes an arm across Hannibal’s waist.

“There was a man—a Russian noble by the name of Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov.” Hannibal explains. “He sailed south, to California, to trade with the Spanish. They didn’t want foreigners in California, but Rezanov managed to buy grain and dried meat for the Russian settlers in Alaska.”

“I’m still not seeing the love story.” Will mumbles.

“You have to be patient Will.” Hannibal says with a smile. “Rezanov made his deal with a man called Don José Darió Argüello, the  Spanish Commandant of San Francisco. Now Don José had a daughter—Concepción Argüello, a beautiful young woman who caught Rezanov’s eye even though she was only fifteen years old.”

“And Rezanov was?”

“Forty two… but as far as history can tell he was really in love with the girl—and she was in love with him. So Rezanov asked for Concepción’s hand in marriage, even those he was Russian Orthodox and she was Roman Catholic.”

“So which one converted?” Will asks with a yawn.

“Neither of them. They decided to get permission to marry, Rezanov from the Patriarch of his church and Concepción from the Pope. Don José wrote a letter to Rome and Rezanov set off towards Russia so he could meet with the Patriarch…”

“And they lived happily ever after?” Will asks, one hand rising up and groping around until he finds Hannibal’s hand and takes hold of it. “Or is this the tragic kind of love story?”

“Oh, the tragic kind of course.” Hannibal replies with a laugh. “On the way back Rezanov fell ill several times, but still he pressed onwards. But he never reached the Patriarch—Rezanov died in Siberia, at a place called Krasny Yar. Now, according to the story, Concepción never found out that Rezanov had died.”

“So what happened to her?”

“Eventually her father died and Concepción became very wealthy. She could have married anyone she wanted, but her heart belonged to Rezanov. So she rejected all her suitors and, eventually became a nun. She died in 1857, still waiting for Rezanov to return.”

“Do you really think she was waiting?” Will asks in a whisper. “Do you really think she _could_ wait all that time, without giving up?”

“…it’s hard to tell the motivations of someone who lived and died over 150 years ago.” Hannibal muses as he runs a hand through Will’s hair. “I believe that she would have faced enormous pressure to marry, to forget Rezanov. To stay single for all those years would have taken unbelievable strength… but I could see you doing the same Will, so I can believe that she waited.”

“I wouldn’t wait.” Will whispers and Hannibal blinks in confusion as he glances down at his beautiful boy, who is— _finally_ —falling asleep. “I mean, I’d wait… but I wouldn’t wait forever. I’d find you.”

“And I have no doubt you’d succeed.” Hannibal smiles. “But you’ll never have to look far for me Will—I’ll always be with you or on my way back to you.”

_(Author’s Note: Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov and Concepción Argüello are real people in California History. You can read more about them[here](http://geocurrents.info/place/north-america/northern-california/russians-in-the-bay-area) and [here](http://www.nps.gov/prsf/historyculture/love-story.htm).)_


	7. Threads Of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place before 30 Nights: 01 --- You Were Never Mine To Begin With and is followed by 30 Nights: 02 --- I’m Willing To Sacrifice Anything Just For You

**07.    Threads Of Fate**

Hannibal Lecter has been fond of Will Graham since the moment he’d glimpsed the intelligence and ability which the Special Investigator possessed. Hannibal’s fondness had only grown as he helped Will profile and then search for the Minnesota Shrike… of course that “fondness” had changed into true affection and admiration on that rainy afternoon when the Special Investigator had come to Hannibal after he’d killed Hobbs.

So it pleases Hannibal that—even though the Shrike is dead and buried—Will spends more time with Hannibal then he spends at home with Molly. Of course Will has an excuse for the time he spends with Hannibal. The FBI has Will looking at cold cases, so Will has gone to Hannibal for assistance... which means that it is a rare week that Will does not visit Hannibal’s townhouse at least twice.

Then—on a summer afternoon when it’s almost too hot to think, let alone move—Will arrives at Hannibal’s townhouse with a file under his arm and a spark in his eyes which Hannibal hasn’t seen since the two of them were chasing the Minnesota Shrike. When Hannibal sees the file full of papers which Will is holding he knows the source of that spark—Will has a case, a _new_ case, for the two of them to investigate. Hannibal finds himself smiling as he steps aside and welcomes Will into his townhouse.

“They just declared it.” Will informs Hannibal as he steps into the older man’s study and heads for what has become “his” chair. As Hannibal takes his seat the Special Investigator hands the file over to him. “The local police have started calling him the ‘Chesapeake Ripper’ and Jack wants us to work on the case together.”

Hannibal calmly takes the folder from Will and begins to quick read through the material while Will remains silent, allowing Hannibal to make his own deductions and get familiar with the case. What Will doesn’t know is that Hannibal doesn’t need to get “familiar” with the case… what he need to familiarize himself with are the inaccuracies and the facts which the police have yet to discover.

The man believed to be the first victim of the Chesapeake Ripper is Devin Weston... a man whose life Hannibal had ended. Hannibal glances up at Will, who is leaning back in his chair, almost vibrating with the energy and excitement that this new case has given him. The young man is beautiful—completely focused on the case, completely immersed in the connections he is starting to see. Already Will is starting to slip inside the mind of the Chesapeake Ripper…

Hannibal wonders how long it will take. He wonders how long it will take for his beloved, beautiful boy to realize that the Chesapeake Ripper is the same man whom he is falling in love with—the same man who took care of him after he killed Hobbs, the same man whom Will seems to trust more than his own wife.

Hannibal knows that, eventually, his beautiful boy will realize that Hannibal is the Chesapeake Ripper… Will is too smart for this not too happen and this intelligence is a large part of what attracts Hannibal to the younger man. Hannibal can’t help but smile at the younger man, who takes his smile as a cue to start crafting a profile of the Ripper. It doesn’t take much effort of twist the profile, to twist Will’s analysis of the serial killer so that the profile leads away from Hannibal.

Hours later, as Hannibal lies in bed with the Special Investigator in his arms, the older man makes a painful decision… should—or perhaps that should be _when_ —worse come to worse, when Will realize that Hannibal is the Ripper, Hannibal will not allow his beloved boy to take away his freedom. Of course Hannibal hopes that he will be able to leave the younger man alive and—relatively—unharmed. But, if worse comes to worse… well then perhaps he’ll eat Will’s heart.

 


	8. Alone At Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 10 Days: 06 --- Don't Worry, I'll Always Be By Your Side and before 10 Days: 09 --- Hear The Thunder Roar And The Lightning Flash

**08.    Alone At Night**

Clarice Starling doesn’t have a plan, so her journey to Europe quickly becomes a wandering, backtracking, goalless quest that takes her through some of the most beautiful cities in Europe—Florcence, Athens, Berlin, Marseilles, New Amsterdam, Barcelona. However the ex-FBI Agent doesn’t notice the beauty that surrounds her. Instead Clarice is completely focused on finding Hannibal Lecter—she does not stop to take in the sights, she does not notice the cathedrals and castles through which she passes. All she does is look for a familiar face, a face which haunts her dreams…

Clarice Starling doesn’t pay attention to day and night—she does not restrict her sleep to when the sun goes down or start searching only when the sun rises. The ex-FBI Agent sleeps when she stops being able to keep her eyes open, in whatever cheap hotel she stumbles upon. When Clarice collapses on a tiny bed in a tiny room, usually without bothering to change or even remove her shoes, her dreams revolve around Hannibal Lecter.

In those dreams Clarice lives in a luxurious house, the sort she’d always dreamed of when she was a little girl. She has maids and cooks and gardeners and a house which would be fitting for royalty… and Hannibal Lecter is the master of this house. They take trips to Europe, where they stay at expensive villas and sit on sunny private beaches. The two of them go to operas, to restraints and to museums… in her dreams Clarice laughs at Hannibal’s jokes and gasps when he shows her the wonders of Europe, the wonders she never notices while awake.

While she sleep on scratchy sheets in cheep hotels, on top of blankets and usually without managing to put her head on her pillow, Clarice dreams of being laid out on satin sheets, of intimate touches and soft sounds of passion on warm summer nights. She dreams of what it would feel like, to have Hannibal’s attention focused completely on her, to be the center of his attentions. She dreams of primal passions, of pain mixing with pleasure and enemies becoming lovers.

She wakes tired, unsatisfied and longing for the dream world as she continues her search, onward and onward, from city to city and nation to nation. While Clarice travels her mind thinks less and less of her past life, of America, the FBI and Jack Crawford. The seasons slowly being to shift as winter releases it’s grip on the land and spring beings to appear.

Then, on a beautiful spring day Clarice Starling finds herself walking down the Rue Coquillière in the Les Halles neighborhood of Paris—the so called “stomach of Paris”. She’s tired and has no idea what her next destination should be, so she’s been wandering through Paris all day, growing increasingly frustrated with herself and her search. Clarice is passing by a small café and not looking where she’s going when she runs into someone. Immediately Clarice starts to apologize in English and her very limited French, only to fall silent when she realizes that she knows the man’s she’s run into…

“Hello Agent Starling.” Will Graham says with an awkward smile as he helps her to stand up. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you.”

“It’s just Clarice—I’m not an FBI Agent anymore.” Clarice replies.

“Well in that case—can I buy you a coffee?” Will asks, gesturing to Au Peid du Cochon, the small café directly behind the two of them.

“…yes, thank you.” Clarice smiles as she follows Will towards the café. The two sit down at a small table on the edge of the café’s terrace. “I... I didn’t know you were in Europe.”

“Good, then the FBI won’t look for me here.” Will replies with a smile. “I assume Margot Verger had a chat with you as well?”

“Yes… so what are you doing here?”

“Living.” Will shrugs elegantly as their drinks arrive. “Trying to forget I suppose.”

“And how is that working out for you?”

“I’m still here aren’t I?” Will laughs bitterly. “What about you? What brings ex-FBI Agent Clarice Starling to Paris?”

“I… I’m looking for him.” Clarice replies, noting the shiver that races through Will’s body.

“Why?” Will asks.

“I need to talk with him. I… I’ve got questions I need him to answer.” Clarice replies, holding her coffee cup in both hands. “Don’t you?”

“Sure, I’ve got questions I’d want him to answer—but he’s tried to kill me.”

“The last time you ran into him he saved you.” Clarice points out. “Wouldn’t you want to ask him why he did that?”

Will stares at Clarice for a second. “Are you trying to recruit me Miss Starling?” He asks, leaning across the table as if the two of them are lovers, whispering sweet nothings.

“Would you help me?” She asks, hardly daring to breathe, half-convinced that she’s dreaming, that any second she’ll wake up and find herself alone in her cheap hotel room.

“I…” Will stammers and hesitates for a second. “I have to think about it… do you have something to write with?”

Clarice rummages in her purse, her hand rubbing up against her gun before it encounters paper and pen, which she passes to Will Graham.

“This is my address.” Will explains as he scribbles out an address and directions on how to get there. “Come over tomorrow night, I’ll figure out my answer and, if I can’t help you then I can at least cook you dinner… okay?”

“Thank you.” Clarice smiles as she takes the piece of paper from Will and shakes his hand. “Thank you for even _thinking_ about helping me.”

“No problem.” Will sighs as he leans back in his chair. “Although I hope you’ll reconsider looking for him—I’ve been told scars aren’t quite as ‘sexy’ on men as they are on women.”

“I’ve already got this.” Clarice remarks as she gestures to the place where her cheek has been marked by gun powder. “Someone told me that the French call it ‘courage.””

“Well you’ve certainly got courage…” Will sighs as he reaches up and shakes Clarice’s hand. “See you tomorrow Clarice.”

“Till tomorrow Will.” Clarice replies before she heads off into the press of traffic and tourists. She doesn’t notice Will fishing a phone out of his pocket and begin composing a text message.

By the time Clarice returns to her hotel Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham are sitting in Au Peid du Cochon, with Hannibal sitting in the chair Clarice has so recently vacated. As Clarice lies down to sleep and dream of Lecter, Hannibal and Will have a tentative plan sketched out and have moved on to the more pressing matter of what exactly Will should cook for ex-Agent Clarice Starling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Au Peid du Cochon is a real café onRue Coquillière in the Les Halles neighborhood of Paris. I have never been there, I just found it using google.


	9. Hear The Thunder Roar And The Lightning Flash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after 10 Days: 08 --- Alone At Night  
> and before 10 Days: 10 --- It’s Just A Nightmare

**09.    Hear The Thunder Roar And The Lightning Flash**

Will Graham’s apartment is on the Île Saint-Louis, a quiet little island with no metro station and only a handful of bus stops. As Clarice Starling walks to the address that Will gave her she sees only two tourists who are clearly a lost American couple. Will answers the door before Clarice can ring the door bell a second time and leads her up one and a half flights of stairs to a comfortable yet beautifully decorated apartment. The walls are decorated with art, both paintings and pictures and the apartment has a marble fireplace, a crystal chandelier and numerous antiques. When Clarice remarks on the decorations Will shrugs off her compliments, claiming that the place is a rental which he had no part in decorating. The apartment is small, with just one bedroom, but it’s not like a single man really _needs_ more than one bedroom.

After a quick tour the two ex-FBI members settle down in the dinning room, which clearly doubles as a study, since there are shelves and shelves of books. The ex-Special Investigator brings out a simple but delicious dinner—a thick beef stew and fresh warm bread from a little bakery up the street. Accompanying the stew is a wine from somewhere called “Ile-de-France” which is pleasant—although Clarice has never been a real wine connoisseur, so she can’t really judge it.

As the two eat they talk about small, unimportant things. Will Graham is charming—bright, witty and funny without being crude. Clarice finds herself wondering if Will’s involvement with the FBI was what drove away Molly, since the man himself seems to be the sort of guy you’d want to hold on to…

When Clarice finishes her stew Will starts cleaning up the table and offers to get the two of them coffee so that they can—finally—start talking about Hannibal. As Will fusses in the kitchen Clarice excuses herself to use the facilities… she’s drunk ever so slightly too much wine and finds herself swaying a little as she walks towards the apartment’s bathroom. As Clarice washes her hands she fails to notice that there are _two_ toothbrushes in the bathroom… but then Clarice hadn’t noticed the dozens of other little signs that more than one man lives in “Will’s” apartment.

“Clarice?” Will calls out as the ex-FBI Agent washes her hands. “I hope you don’t mind—but an old friend decided to stop by.”

Confused, Clarice Starling heads back into the dining room, only to freeze as she steps through the door and catches sight of Will’s “old friend”. Sitting at the dinning room table, in the same seat where Clarice had just eaten dinner, is Hannibal Lecter—who is still in possession of _both_ his hands.

As Clarice stares at the man she has been searching for Will steps back into the room, carrying two cups of coffee. Will places one cup in front of Hannibal before he sits down to the right of the serial killer, who smiles fondly at the ex-Special Investigator.

“Hello Clarice.” Hannibal smiles. “Please, don’t stand on my account.”

Slowly Clarice steps forward and sits down in a chair across the table form the two men—there is no cup of coffee sitting at her place or in Will’s hands. Meanwhile the man whom she has been chasing for almost a year is sitting across the table from her—drinking coffee and holding Will Graham’s hands. Clarice stares at the two’s joined hands and she realizes that Hannibal has a gold ring on his left hand. She blinks, confused by the jewelry—but then Will lifts up his coffee cup to take a sip and Clarice spots the ring on Will’s left hand which matches Hannibal’s. When she spots this Clarice suddenly remembers all the strange little things about the apartment—the little oddities which she now noticed could only really be explained by _two_ men living in an apartment together.

Clarice’s gaze hardens and she glares at Will, at the man who has basically _stolen_ Hannibal from her—the man who had stabbed Hannibal with a handful of arrows and then shot him. Will had locked Hannibal away and then somehow managed to latch on to the older man when he’d escaped from his imprisonment. Clarice wants to throw something at the blond man, to scream at him, to shout and curse… and she wants to get her gun out of her purse and shoot Will while Hannibal watches.

“But he… he put you away!” Clarice hisses, not looking at Hannibal as she speaks, choosing instead to keep glaring at Will.

“I didn’t want to.” Will whispers, guilt clear on his face—guilt which Clarice decides has to be an act. “Things got out of hand—”

Before Will can say anything else Hannibal squeezes his hand, cutting off the ex-Special Investigator.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to her.” Hannibal whispers before he turns his attention towards Clarice.

“Why him?” Clarice whispers, finding herself blinking in order to hold back tears.

“I do wish you hadn’t chosen to come after me Clarice. Although I suppose one could blame me for ‘leading you on’ or some such nonsense… but I don’t have to explain myself to you Agent Starling.” Hannibal sighs as he leans back in his chair. “Will is the only person I feel the need to answer too and, fortunately, he is intelligent enough that I rarely need to explain my actions or the reasoning behind them. Had you stayed in American with the FBI like a good little girl, then perhaps it wouldn’t have come to this….”

Clarice suddenly realizes that she is swaying in her chair, both back and forth and side to side. She grabs on to the table and shakes her head quickly, hoping that it will somehow help her to feel more awake and alert. _Something’s wrong_ … Clarice realizes, but it’s too little too late and it is getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open.

“You’re terribly unobservant Agent Starling.” Will remarks as Clarice finds herself unable to stop her eyes form closing and her body from leaning forward. “First you don’t noticed that I live here with someone else, then you don’t notice the rather obvious taste of the drugs in your wine.”

_Author’s Note: Hannibal and Will’s apartment is based off ofthis one that I found via google._


	10. It’s Just A Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Strongly implied torture in this chapter!
> 
> This chapter takes place after 10 Days: 09 --- Hear The Thunder Roar And The Lightning Flash

**10.    It’s Just A Nightmare**

When Clarice Starling opens her eyes she finds herself lying down on the dining room table, staring up at the ceiling and the crystal chandelier. Her coat and shoes have been removed and Clarice can feel that something plastic has been laid down over the table. Clarice tries to move and finds herself tied down to the table by her hands and legs, with a gag in her mouth keeping her quiet. She blinks, struggling to clear her vision and tilts her head to one side, where she finds Will Graham, sitting in an armchair staring at her with cold, distant eyes. Hannibal is standing to Will’s left, between the ex-Special Investigator and Clarice. There is a small folding table next to Hannibal—Clarice can see what appears to be a bowl of water and a few washcloths on the table and can tell that Hannibal is arranging something else, something Clarice can’t see which makes a metallic sound when moved.

“Of course you’ve had _sashimi_ before _…_ but this is rather special variation. It’s called _ikizukuri_ and is generally considered the finest way to prepare _sashimi_.”

“ _Ikizukuri._ ” Will sounds like he’s tasting the word. “So what’s so special about it?”

“It translates to ‘cutting down alive’ or ‘prepared alive’.” Hannibal explains as he walks over towards Clarice, taking the table with him and placing it just above Clarice’s head and out of her line of sight. “First you sedate the fish by partially freezing it, then one lies it on the side and skewers it twice… one goes right below the eye, the other in the midpoint of the tail.”

“But that doesn’t kill the fish?” Will asks as he moves to stand to the side and just slightly behind Hannibal, whom he leans against ever so slightly.

 “No it doesn’t. The chef takes a thin sharp knife—one that is almost like a scalped—and cuts diagonal slices into the fish’s side…” Hannibal smirks down at Clarice as he reaches over to the folding table and picks up a small, sharp knife and holds it up for Will to examine. “The trick is to keep the fish alive as long as possible while removing the meat, down to the bone, from one side and then the other.”

Clarice tries to scream, but the gag keeps her silent. She tries to move, but the ropes tying her down to the table don’t budge. Hannibal Lecter steps forward, Clarice closes her eyes as he raises the knife and—

Jack Crawford wakes screaming and drenched in a cold sweat.

A glance at his alarm clock reveals that it is two AM. Jack breathes deeply a few times as he slowly sits up and heads into his bathroom. Without turning on the light Jack washes his face and stares into the mirror for a second, thinking of Clarice Starling and Will Graham… no matter what he does Jack can’t shake the feeling that he is somehow responsible for the ex-FBI Agent and ex-Special Investigator. After all he had been the one who had helped both Will and Clarice meet Hannibal, even though Alan had been the one to suggest that Will and Hannibal work together on the Minnesota Shrike.

Both Clarice and Will had shown such promise and now… well Will was as good as missing. About once every two months Jack found a post card from Will in his mail, usually with nothing more than “Still alive. –Will” and Jack’s address written on the back. The last few cards had been from Japan, or at least had been Japanese themed and had Japanese post marks. So Will was off somewhere, trying to live with the scars Hannibal and Jack had given him… at least he was alive… Clarice Starling wasn’t so lucky.

A month ago the French Police had pulled a Clarice Starling’s body out of the Seine River... she had been in the water for at least a week and it appeared a ship’s propeller had further damaged her body. The investigation into the death of the ex-FBI Agent had made headlines all over the world, but had ended rather quickly. There were no signs of foul play and a search of Clarice’s hotel room had turned up the young woman’s diary.

Jack Crawford had read every single page… Clarice Starling had been looking for Hannibal, but as her search took her around Europe she began a descent into what appeared to be some sort of madness. Her journal entries had been confusing to read—at times it almost sounded like she… well _fancied_ Hannibal. As the entries approached the day that Clarice must have jumped into the Seine the entries got shorter and shorter… the final entry, written one day before the Police believed Clarice jumped, simply read “I’m so tried. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

Jack doesn’t question the ruling… he just carries the guilt for Clarice Starling’s suicide like he carries the guilt for Will Graham’s scars and his divorce. However, in silent moments during the day and night, when Jack finds himself alone with his thoughts, he can’t help but think about how he’d always thought _Will_ would be the one to commit suicide because of Hannibal Lecter.

 

Author’s Note: All my info about sashimi comes from the book American Fuji by Sara Backer and the internet. Yes, _ikizukuri_ is [a real thing](http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ikizukuri.htm).


End file.
